Short Story Competition

"It is with words as with sunbeams.
The more they are condensed, the deeper they burn."
robert southey

Peirene Press specializes in publishing fiction that is short, succinct and beautifully written: contemporary European novellas. Short fiction, when done well, can be more powerful than any other form of writing; consider Hemingway’s famous six-word short: ‘For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn.’ — any more detail, and the story would collapse. The short story owes as much to what it doesn’t say as what it does. To celebrate the annual NaNoWriMo competition, Peirene is offering a writing opportunity for those who don’t want to commit to the creation of a novel: a European-themed short fiction competition - PeiShoStoMo Peirene Short Story Competition.

Write a short story of 900 words in the month of November. That’s only thirty words a day, for thirty days. As a starting point, the title of the story should be the name of a European city (of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean that your story has to be set in the city).

The winner will have their story published on the Peirene website, and receive a 2012 subscription to Peirene Press. Two runners up will also have their stories published on the website.

Stories should be submitted via Circalit by 1st December 2011. Winners will be announced in the January newsletter.

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Thank you to all the participants for their entries. We had 102 eligible entries.The choice was difficult. All three winning stories impressed us with their skillful plotting. The writers managed to create suspense and tension. The reader feels compelled to know what will happen next. The final sentences are beautifully timed.

This is an annual competition and our next 900 word short story competition will take place November 2012.